


all my life

by nonamebut



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, F/F, Fluff, Strangers to Lovers, idk just a short cute thing, meet cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-10-05 12:43:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20489072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nonamebut/pseuds/nonamebut
Summary: Vivi has always been a bit of a dreamer.





	all my life

**Author's Note:**

> i didn't edit this heh we die like men

The familiar signs atop the bowling lanes twinkle with a nostalgic shine. Today's mood is particularly soft, with the mood lights burning a quiet burgundy. Outside, summer sweeps through the city, finally hot enough for the owner of the restaurant-recreational-center hybrid, called _ The Alley _, to justify keeping the AC on with a perpetual buzzzz.

It's mostly the almost annoying hum of the AC that keeps Vivi awake on nights like this, sitting behind the counter and watching the hours tick past before her shift ends and she has to go home to study some more. But lately, there's another little something—a little someone, really—that keeps her from falling asleep. Gets her heart pumping at a strange pace, even.

"She keeps looking at you," Haseul whispers conspiratorially as she passes by Vivi's space on her way to the kitchen. "Do you think the boss would get mad if you flirted back?"

Vivi giggles awkwardly. "The boss only shows up to give us our money, Haseul. And if he didn't say anything about Heejin bringing in her pets, then I'm pretty sure he could care less, whatever we end up doing on the job."

From where she's been fixing the bowling shoes behind Vivi, Heejin makes a long, drawn out sound of astonishment. "That's the most I've ever heard Vivi speak, like, ever."

"Wow! You must really be into her already." Haseul teases good naturedly, winking at the two girls and sliding away before Vivi can do as much as reach out and pinch Haseul's cheek in retaliation.

Vivi huffs. She glances behind her, shifting her glare to her other coworker.

"... It's true, though," says Heejin quietly, still not turning away from the rack before her. "You''re acting pretty out of character?"

Maybe Vivi is.

Most people know Vivi as a bit of a dreamer, a spacey idealist. It's an easy assumption to make, with how her nose is always buried in those cheap romance books one can find at the convenience store a block away from _ The Alley _. To be fair, it's not that much of a misconception at all: Vivi has always consistently daydreamed and wondered and it's no wonder that people would form such an opinion about her.

So it's pretty strange, to see the doe eyed girl step even a little bit outside her comfort zone.

For many years, Vivi has held court from her seat at the counter, quietly watching customers come and go. She's the oldest employee here, both in experience and literal age. She was there to dry everyone's tears when Yujin had to quit and she was the one who convinced their old manager to close the store early to set up a party to celebrate Heejin ranking fourth at school.

She's got history here. The Alley has as much of Vivi in it as Vivi embodies _ The Alley _: always warm, always inviting, a quiet escape from the harsh reality that waits outside.

"Unnie?" Heejin comes back into focus. "Don't panic, but. She's coming here."

Vivi's head snaps back to the front, suddenly catching the gaze of a very familiar customer. The movement is so sudden that her hair fans out, a pink flurry that nearly hits Heejin in the face. The younger girl only giggles; she's no Hyunjin so she lets it slide.

When the customer speaks, all soft syrup and low light, Vivi thinks of towers and dragons and how long Rapunzel's hair must have grown before respite arrived in the form of a forest straggler.

"I was wondering if I could rent some rollerblades?" She lifts a dainty finger to point at the racks behind Vivi. Coincidentally, Heejin is suddenly nowhere to be found—right when a customer came to rent what she's in charge of.

Feeling a strange feeling lick up the chambers of her heart, Vivi smiles and takes charge. "Sure. Just give me a moment."

The warmth continues to burn in her chest when Haseul swings by once again and says, cheeky and so very smug, "Vivi, aren't you on break starting from now?"

"Really?" asks the mystery customer who really shouldn't be such a mystery customer with how often she visits that _ she should really be _ called a regular in Vivi's mind _ but to be fair _ the very thought of the girl makes Vivi's mind all _ jumbled up _ messing with the invisible furniture in her head and rearranging it all when she's not looking.

"Yeah," Vivi manages to say. Smooth.

"Great! I was actually hoping you could help me learn how to use them?" That's... very forward. Alright.

Vivi hops off her stool, her one constant friend all these years, and jumps over the counter in a smooth movement, as if she's practiced it many times despite having only taken an impromptu break once in her entire life—and by once, that's right now.

"I'm Vivi, by the way," she says as she hands the customer a pair of rollerblades that Haseul so conveniently hands over. The customer laughs and gestures at the name tag on Vivi's chest. "Yeah, I know. I've been gathering the courage to finally say hello and call you by your name for the past few months now, really."

If their hands linger for longer than usual when the rollerbaldes are exchange, neither of them say anything about it. "I'm Sooyoung."

Since Sooyoung has been pretty honest so far, Vivi feels like offering a secret admission of her own. "I know that, too. I keep hearing your friends call you that." The romantic part of Vivi imagines a tiny dragon stomping around her ribcage, blowing flames into all the cold corners of her heart after awakening from a deep slumber. "... where are your friends today, actually?"

Sooyoung laughs almost awkwardly, waving a hand as she leads them towards one of the nearby seats meant for those waiting for their turn at bowling. "Nah, I came alone today. Trying something new, you know?"

That's quite the understatement. Vivi lets herself finally take a good look at the girl she's been crushing on for literal months now and notes all the unfamiliar fashion choices Sooyoung's made tonight. She exchanged her clean cut blouses and innocent heeled shoes for a leather jacket and a wilder smile. It feels like it's a look she's a lot more confident in, really.

"It looks good," Vivi gulps, "on you."

She can't help but fall even more when Sooyoung laughs, sounding dorky and silly, the duality of somehow simultaneously acting the part of an awkward duckling and a graceful swan. "Thank you. I've always wanted to tell you this, but I love your hair."

Vivi settles on the seat across from Sooyoung with a surprised noise. "Really? I was wondering, lately, if I should dye it back to black, or cut it short."

A squeakier noise tumbles out of Vivi's lips when Sooyoung leans in real close, gentle fingers stuttering as they tuck a stray strand of hair behind Vivi's ear. The action falters, as if Sooyoung changes her mind last second, because then she slides her fingers down a bit more until they lightly twirl around the ends of the strands.

Vaguely, Vivi thinks: what a preschool kid move.

Outwardly, Vivi just says, "You like it that much?"

Sooyoung laughs and realizes herself in that moment, leaning back and turning back down to lace up her rollerblades. Vivi starts to do the same.

If their eyes dart up to sneak glances at each other—if they make eye contact when they happen to catch each other in the act—neither of them say anything about it.

When they stand up and make for the skating area, Vivi can't tell if the way Sooyoung stumbles is practiced or can actually be attributed to her newly discovered clumsy side. But Vivi doesn't really mind, if it means Sooyoung gets to press up real close as Vivi tries to explain how to keep balance.

And maybe Vivi is acting out of character, but at least it seems like Sooyoung is, too. And maybe Vivi doesn't actually know much about the other girl, and maybe Sooyoung isn't really the girl Vivi has imagined her to be, has hoped her to be during all these months of quiet stares and intense pining—but does it really matter?

(Vivi's heart burns bright with the knowledge that Sooyoung really loves _ The Alley _ , despite all its dust and vintage qualities. The fire burns stronger when Sooyoung takes Vivi's hands and spins them in dizzying circles, and Vivi has never had this much fun in a long, long time. _ The Alley _ hasn't echoed with this much laughter in a long, long time.)

And maybe Sooyoung doesn't know Vivi all that well, either. She doesn't know why Vivi's been living in a foreign country using a name gifted to her by her friends, why she's never left for better jobs, why she sits and sits and dreams and waits.

But maybe all that doesn't matter. Tonight Vivi lets herself feel brave. Imagines a page turning, a new chapter opening up to her, to Sooyoung. Fresh pages for both of them to write in, a new story only the two of them know.

Vivi has always been a bit of a spacey idealist. But maybe this time, starting from now on—she doesn't have to dream on her own anymore.

x x x x x x x x 

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! kinda on a time crunch rn so i'll probably edit the notes later oof but i just rly wanted to say i hope u enjoy your weekend and i appreciate you if you made it this far


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